The Android's Saga
by Aoikami Sarah
Summary: Android 18, her husband dead, her daughter grown. What's an adroid to do? Crossover. Part 1 DBZ. Part 2 Outlaw Star. Part 3 Cowboy Bepop.
1. The Android's Tears

The Android's Tears

> The Android's Tears by Aoi Kami Sarah
> 
> Chi-chi walked Goten and Marron to the door. "You're welcome anytime, dear."  
"Thank you." The young woman bowed her head. "You've been so kind to me, Mrs. Son."  
"You ready?" Goten opened the passenger side door of his air-car. She nodded and got in. They took off for the south.
> 
> *  
The car settled into the parking space behind another car adjacent to the little house. It was a bright, sunny Saturday. Neighbors were out tending their lawns and playing with their kids. Marron trudged to the door, followed by her friend. She turned the lock nervously and entered.  
The house was cool and quiet. The air was stagnant. She pouted lightly and opened the blinds. Sunlight streamed in and illuminated the dust flying in the atmosphere. Marron opened several windows.  
"You know, I've never been to your house." Goten looked around with mild interest.   
"You're not missing much." She walked from the living room to the kitchen. "You hungry?"  
"Heh, I'm always hungry!" he grinned. She wasn't amused. "But, I don't want to inconvenience you."  
"It's ok. I don't know what we have... let's see..." The cupboards were rather bare. Goten's stomach growled against his will. "There's some beans... ramen... I have no idea what this is.." she pulled some food out.  
"Beans sound good."  
"Kee doke." She looked for a clean dish. The house had been left in a hurry and no one had done the dishes. They were stacked up in the sink. She found a pair of clean coffee mugs, dumped the beans into them and popped them in the microwave.   
Goten thanked her and did his best not to swallow them all in one gulp. She took a bite of hers and played with them, staring absently at the floor in front of him. She shook her head and sighed, coming out of her contemplation and saw that the half-Saiyan was staring at her mug. She smiled and handed it to him. "I'm not really hungry right now."  
He thanked her again, made sure she was ok with it and consumed her half.
> 
> Marron wandered around and looked at things in her family's house as if she were seeing them for the first time.   
"Hey, I remember this day!" Goten said of a picture on an end table. It was of Krillin, Eighteen and Marron as a baby in front of Capsule Corp. Goten and Trunks's heads could be seen poking into the frame making goofy faces. Otherwise it was a lovely portrait.  
"Yeah, Dad really liked that one. He said it was serious and not at the same time. That was him, really. Even when the shit hit the fan, he had a joke or a funny insult to make everyone feel better." Marron turned away from him suddenly. "Oh Kami, I'm talking about him in the past tense!" She couldn't stop the tears.  
Goten furrowed his brows and tried to think of something to say to console her. "I've been there."  
Marron faced him and wiped the tears away. "Yeah. It sucks."  
They stood there for a moment. Neither knowing what to say.  
"I guess I better get back home."  
Marron bit her lip.  
"You gonna be ok?" He approached her and put his hand tentatively on her shoulder. That was all she needed.  
"NO!" she sobbed and fell against his chest. He was surprised, but hugged her and rubbed her back. He whispered that he was there for her. She pulled back and met his eyes. He looked on her with sympathy. She knew then that he really cared. "I don't want to be alone."   
"But, what about your mom?"   
She had to laugh a little bit at the question. "I'd be surprised to see her next month much less tomorrow!"  
"Why isn't she here with you now?" Goten was angered by Eighteen's inaction.  
"Because she's taking it worse than I am."
> 
> *  
The cave was well hidden by the over grown shrubbery but she knew its location intimately. Pushing the foliage aside gently so as not to disturb the excellent camouflage, she ducked in. It was pitch dark, but her irises expanded to let in what little light seeped through the entrance.   
Water made a chorus of pinging sounds as it dripped from the ceiling onto the equipment. She walked over to the pods. Dusting one off revealed the number 18. The android sighed and closed her eyes.  
"Beat ya here," a voice called out from the darkness. Eighteen was startled, but more angry than afraid of him.  
"Seventeen..." she grumbled.   
"Happy birthday, Sister."  
She did not reply. She was the quiet one, so he was not upset at her silence. "Call me a human, but I have the feeling you're upset."  
"You're correct. Kryllin is dead."  
"I heard." Seventeen pouted. "No one asked ME if I wanted to fight..." He may have been almost thirty years old, but he would always be a teenager at heart. Even though a wish (to a very confused Eternal Dragon) several years back had granted him mortality.  
"It's always about you, isn't it, Seven.  
"Of course it is," he smirked. His sister was still stoic; more so than usual. "Honestly, Teena. I am concerned. In case you've forgotten, I have a woman of my own whom I can't imagine losing." He dumped some scrap parts off a table onto the floor of the cave and sat down. Eighteen stood where she was. "What happens now?"  
"You're so lucky..." she whispered. "There is no wish to be made for me."  
He made a face. "You're beginning to freak me out, Teena. What's going on?"  
She looked to him finally. "I came here today for two reasons: for our 'birthday' and..." Her eyes closed and she turned away from his inevitable reaction. "To say good-bye."  
"What, you want to kill yourself!?" Seventeen jumped off the table and stared at her.   
"No! I just.. I don't know.. I just.. don't want to live forever..."   
"Teena..." He understood. He had gone through the same trauma years ago, but had been too pig-headed to go to his sister for advice. He kicked himself now for not having done so. Maybe if he had, she would have wished herself mortal as he had... maybe.. Seventeen gritted his teeth. "So, what will you do?"  
"I don't know. I haven't ruled out self-detonation, yet. Maybe someday I'll just... run out." She illustrated this by raising her hand and letting it fall. "Plop."  
"Maybe, but what about Marron?"  
She made a face. "Yes. Marron. She's grown up. Christ, she looks older than me now. I've had strangers take me for her younger sister. She'll be fine without me." This last phrase choked her up so she fell silent. Seventeen didn't seem to notice.  
"So this is good-bye then, Number Eighteen?"  
"I'm afraid so. If not forever, for a long time. I need to think. There's so much about humanity I thought I understood which I know now I don't. I'm going to travel and experiment. Try to find some... meaning."  
"When you think I can help answer any questions..." he extended his hand.  
She nodded and took it. Seventeen was shocked to feel her pull him close to her and hug him, tightly.   
"I will. Good-bye, Number Seventeen." She turned and walked slowly out through the overgrown entrance. He watched her go.  
"Good luck."
> 
> *  
After going out to shop, Marron and Goten cooked a large dinner in the little house. They chatted about the past and shared stories their fathers had told them about things that happened before they were born. They turned on many lights and played music on the stereo. At last, the house was alive. Marron smiled at Goten and cleared the coffee mugs which had served their true purpose. She rinsed them out and sighed. It had been a long day.  
"Do you still want me to say, Marron?" he asked from the swinging kitchen door.   
"Yes, please!" she said a little too enthusiastically. "I... I don't know if I'm ready to handle this place on my own."  
"No problem," he smiled sincerely. She thought to herself that his was the sweetest smile she had ever known. She blushed.  
"Wanna watch a video? I have Monty Python on disc!"  
"Oh, I watched some of that with Trunks once. Those are the British guys with the silly walks and dead parrots and stuff, right?"  
"Yeah, that's the Flying Circus. Ever seen any of the movies?"  
He thought for a second. "I don't think so."  
"Wow," she skipped past him into the living room. "You're practically a virgin!"  
"WHAT?!?"  
"A Python Virgin! Check it, I got Holy Grail, Life of Brian, Jabberwocky..." she tossed the DVDs at him for his inspection.  
"I heard the Grail one is good," he was amazed at her enthusiasm.   
Marron set up the movie and turned out the lights. They settled in on the couch and vegetated. They started off sitting on opposite ends of the love seat, but as the film progressed and their laughter made them more comfortable, they inched closer together. By the time Lancelot took Swamp Castle, Goten took Marron. They made out in the dim flicker of the television long after it went to a blue screen then fell asleep, tangled awkwardly in each other's arms.
> 
> *  
Eighteen entered through the back door sometime around dawn. She saw the car in the drive way and knew who had to be inside. She went about her task silently, sensing they were still asleep. Maybe she could do what she had to do and get out without waking them.   
Teena went upstairs and took a box out of the closet. Inside it were dozens of photographs. She found the one she was looking for. She remembered that Yamcha had taken it the day before her wedding. He was the only person she knew of who still used black and white film for snap shots.   
Kryllin was standing on the top step on the stoop at Kame House. Eighteen was below him, so he appeared to be taller than she. She put all the rest of the photos back where she had found them. The android put this in a bag along with some clothes. The last item she packed was a jacket, too heavy for the warm weather, but essential. The Red Ribbon army logo on the back was faded, but she liked that jacket enough to want to take it with her.  
She came back down into kitchen and was aggravated to see Marron come through the swinging door, just as she was leaving.   
"Mom!" her daughter cried and stood where she was.   
"Marron," Eighteen replied. "Good morning."  
The young woman positioned herself strategically in front of the door.  
"You know very well you can't hide anything from me." Marron began to explain, but she cut her off. "You're old enough to be married, Marron. It's all right. And, good choice by the way. Goten's a good man. No money, of course, but as long as you're happy.."   
"Thank you." Marron noticed the pack on her back. "Are you leaving again?"  
"Yes. I'm going away for a while. I can't really explain it to you, it's just something I need to do, and I'd prefer it if you not question me about my decision."  
Marron frowned. "You know I've never questioned you. I know why you're leaving. You're running away." She didn't hide her displeasure. "I did too, but I'm staying. Goten and I are staying here."  
"Marron, what do I have to run from? This house? The memories? I will always have the memories, ten times more clear than you can imagine."  
"How bout me, Mom!?" she raised her voice.  
"You?" Teena's expression remained unchanged. "Marron, you have never needed me, and I don't mean that in a nasty way. You were your father's daughter. You have found a piece of him in that hunk out there on the couch. Soon, he will be enough to fill the void and you will be happy again."  
Marron blinked dumbly at her. She couldn't remember her mother ever being so forward with her. She suddenly realized that Krillin's death had changed Eighteen, as well as her. She hung her head.  
Eighteen approached her and took her hands. "Marron. You'll be fine. Of this I'm confident." Her daughter looked up with tears in her eyes. She smiled at her and squeezed her hands back.  
"I'll miss you, Mom!"  
"I'll miss you, too." She let her go and turned away before the tears spilled over onto her cheeks. She walked to the back door. "Perhaps we'll meet again." Without a sound, the android left. Marron stared out the door's little window until she was no longer in sight, then went back to her dozing man.
> 
> END
> 
> Next The Android's Wings: A Dragonball Z / Outlaw Star Cross Over Fic
> 
> DISCLAIMERS:  
This story is based on Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball manga and anime. I've also taken inspiration from "17 And In Between": a Seventeen saga by Crystaviel -http://westwood.fortunecity.com/italian/70/hosting/seventeen/sintro.html  
Please read it! :) 


	2. The Andriod's Wings chapter one

The Android's Wings Chapter One

> The Android's Wings: A Dragonball Z / Outlaw Star Cross Over Fic by Aoi Kami Sarah
> 
> Chapter One
> 
> It was another brilliantly beautiful day. Another dawn greeted the town and its people smiled as they woke. Commerce bustled, children played and the town was alive with energy and enthusiasm.   
When the ship plowed into the local potato farmer's fields, everyone was naturally very surprised. The word spread as fast a rumor in a small town and within moments, all the inhabitants were crowding around the smooth, yellow spaceship. There was some discussion as to whether this was an airbus, but the one man who had left the village once in his entire life protested that he had never seen an airbus that large and strange-looking before.   
A stranger in a long cloak saw the commotion from the road and made her way towards the wreck. She pushed gently past the rural folk and climbed up the crumpled fuselage.   
"Hey, lady! I don't know if that's such a hot idea, there!" a man protested. "There could be horrible space aliens inside!" He pulled his cheeks out with his fingers and made what he considered to be a horrible face. "They'll eat our brains and turn our cows inside out!"  
Most of the crowd moaned with trepidation and a few of the village women fainted.   
"That would be something," she replied and kept climbing. The crowd stood back and watched.  
  
The hatch was still compressed and difficult to open; a good sign; any beings inside would not have been exposed to the outer atmosphere as their ship fell to Earth. Air hissed through the opening as she pulled the hatch free and tossed it aside as if it were a sheet of paper. The crowd stepped back a few paces and muttered to itself. The interior was dark and the ship was on its side. She slid in across the floor and stood on the far wall.   
'They must have been able to pull up at the last moment,' she thought as she touched the doors to the cabin. The nose had suffered little damage. "This better be good," She gripped the crack where the doors met and pulled them apart easily. Inside, a few small instrument lights still blinked their warnings to the crew. One man was slumped on the screen. A small pool of blood glistened in the dim blinking lights.   
"Great," she sighed and pushed back her cowl. "I go to all this trouble and he's dead." She pulled his head up by his black hair. "AND ugly. Woof." She let his head fall back down and was surprised to hear a groan.  
"Oh. Sorry, pal. You sure are close to it, though.. and you are rather unattractive." She reached around and picked him up. She slung him over her shoulder and began to drag him out of the cabin.  
To her left, static hissed into life. The blond woman stopped and waited. It resolved itself as the auxiliary power was allotted.   
"Wait! Please don't leave me!"  
"Huh?" She turned and looked in the direction of the voice. There was a glow brightening around the center column. She dumped the body on the ground and investigated.  
On a monitor, flickering with white noise was the image of a green-haired young man. "Please," he begged. "Don't take my brother. Don't leave me!"  
"Your brother?" she asked.  
"Yes, please. He needs help and I'm the only one who can give it to him. You must take us both!"  
"What if I don't want to take either of you?" she crouched down and raised a brow.  
"Fine. The Aux Power will give out in another 15 minutes and we'll both be dead. Just please don't separate us."  
"But... You're just an artificial intelligence..."  
"Yeah. I wasn't always. Please. I can transfer myself to that portable unit over there. Take me too!"  
She looked around and saw what looked like a lap-top plugged into the console. "Ok.. whatever. At least you don't take up much space."  
"Thank you! Thank you! You are my Angel!"  
"You don't know me very well, kid."  
"Kid!" A tiny camera whirred as it zoomed in and scrutinized her. "You don't look a whole lot older than I do."   
"Looks can be deceiving."  
"Well, tell me you name at least, Angel."  
"It's Number Eighteen. Who are you?"  
He was silent for a moment. He raised a brow and smiled. "I'm Harry. Harry MacDougal."
> 
> Stay Tuned for The Android's Wings Chapter Two by Aoi Kami Sarah 


	3. The Andriod's Wings chapter two

The Android's Wings Chapter Two

> The Android's Wings: A Dragonball Z / Outlaw Star Cross Over Fic by Aoi Kami Sarah
> 
> Chapter Two
> 
> Eighteen set the laptop down on a lab table and carried Harry's brother to a regeneration tank. She lay his body down, stripped it of it's clothes and ogled it for a moment before walking over to the laptop.   
"Hello, Angel," Harry beamed as his monitor came on.  
"How do you know it's me? Your camera's not hooked up yet. And my name is Eighteen."  
"I just knew it was you. And that's no name for someone as beautiful as you."  
"Again," she said grouchily. "You can't see me and flattery will get you absolutely nowhere, kid."  
"Ok, ok. I'm sorry. How's Ron?"  
"Your brother? Living. Barely. You need to get to work."  
"Yeah, you know I'd love to, but without the ship or nice set of arms, I'm pretty useless."  
Eighteen rolled her eyes. "Let me guess. You want me to do all the work."  
"You'll have to try. You wouldn't begin to understand what I have to do."  
"Try me. I happen to be fairly well versed in cybernetic human bio-tenchnology. I ASSUME you guys ARE human or close to it?"  
Harry's image blinked a few times, then grinned. "Yeah. We are. Or were."  
"I see he's about 90% bionic." Eighteen plugged the camera in and set it up. It swiveled and focused first on Ron in the distance then on Eighteen.   
"Just about. Could you be my arms, Angel? Please?"  
She folded her arms. "As long as you stop calling me Angel."  
"Sorry. Eighteen."  
"Better. Let's get to work."
> 
> *
> 
> Ron was sleeping peacefully. They had worked for ten hours or more and dawn was approaching. Harry cocked the image of his head to the side and the camera whirred.  
"I am impressed, Miss Eighteen. You are quite skilled for a woman so young!"  
"And I'm also not tired," she said and jumped up to sit on the table across from his monitor. "I'm not very impressed with you, however Harry. For someone who's done so much work on his own, you appear to be completely oblivious."  
"Oblivious?" he asked. "What have I missed, Miss Eighteen?"  
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Or you're just playing dumb. Let's see shall we?" she jumped down from the counter. Her fingers stretched out for the laptop's keyboard.   
"What.. what are you doing?" he asked, a hint of panic in his digitized voice. The camera turned from Eighteen to Ron quickly then back again. "Is this a set up?! Did they Kei Pirates send you!?"  
"Kei Pirates?" she scoffed. "I found your helpless ass. That's all. I just want to see something. I'm not going to hurt you," Eighteen reassured him. She fought his encryption and easily accessed Harry's AI files. "Hm. You're only a few months old!"  
"I was 19 when I was converted."  
She nodded, but pressed on. "Where is Blue Heaven?" she asked, her interest was piqued.  
"About 1.5 light-years from here."  
Another nod. "And the Shangri-la is your ship?"  
"Was our ship. Miss Eighteen, if there's anything you want to know, you can ASK, you know."  
"I know, but I'm not sure you'd tell me the truth." She logged out and looked at the monitor. "So, you've only been an AI for a few months. Do you like it?"  
Harry's image frowned. "It's got it's good points and bad points."  
"Like?"  
"Well, I can live forever and go anywhere."  
"Yeah...?"  
"But I don't have any hands. I can't feel anything. I can't wake up or go to sleep. I can't cry."  
Eighteen was about to speak when a moan from the back of the room distracted them both.  
"Ron!" Harry cheered. "Are you awake, Ron?"  
"Harry...?" he asked blearily and pushed himself up out of the open cradle-shaped, regen tank. "Where are we?"  
"You're in my lab." Eighteen folded her arms and observed him.   
"And you are...?" he asked.  
"She's our savior, Ron! Her name is Number Eighteen."  
"Savior, huh?" he rubbed his arm and checked himself out. "You do this?"  
"Yes. You were in pretty rough shape."  
"So, what do you get out of it?"  
Harry looked concerned as if he hadn't thought that she would want something in return.  
"Now that you mention it," she grinned and shifted her weight. "I need to do one more thing for you first.  
"Oh?" Ron asked.  
"I'm going to fix your ship."   
Ron walked up to her. "All right. Who do you work for?"  
"Ron, she's ok! She's from this planet..."  
"What's your story, Number girl?" he asked again roughly.   
"It's too long. But I assure you, what I want from you is completely harmless."  
"I don't believe you," he snarled and reeled back to hit her.  
As Ron's hand came down, Harry screamed out for him to stop. The arm did stop. In Eighteen's grip. She held the cybernetic arm firmly and looked into his eyes.  
"Believe it."  
"What.. are.. you?!" Ron tried to pull free.  
"Harry, this is what I was surprised you didn't pick up on, but what I discovered you guessed."  
He gasped. "Ron! She's a bio-android!"  
"What!? A bio-android, this strong!?"  
"Stronger. I'm being gentle. If I was your enemy, you would have both been dead hours ago. I need you guys. I need your ship and your knowledge of the universe. I need to get off this rock. I will repair your ship if you take me with you when you go." She released him and folded her arms again.  
They were both silent.   
"Now. Let's go, shall we?"  
"I can fix my own ship." Ron glowered at her.  
"I can help."  
"We don't want your help."  
"Ron..."  
"Shut up, Harry. She's entranced you. You're not thinking clearly."  
"Fine." Harry's image frowned. "Then I want something else from you."  
Eighteen looked a little shocked.  
"I can see it there in the corner. I want it."  
She looked over where he was indicating. When she moved everything useful out of the wreckage of the lab, she had found it. The last of the series. Still untouched.   
Eighteen closed her eyes. "No."  
"No!?"  
"No! You don't know what that is! What we are..."  
"I know you're an android and that thing over there is my only chance for ever having a real body again. Like yours. Please, Miss Eighteen. Please give it to me!"  
"What are you talking about, Harry?"  
Eighteen walked over to the corner. She easily pulled the five-hundred pound casket out and brought it into the middle of the room. She pressed a large button and the hydraulic lid whispered open.  
"This is Number Twenty One."  
The Android was spooky-looking, nude, tall, thin and hairless like a doll. His eyes were closed.  
"Please," Harry whispered again.  
"All right. It will take some time," she said and closed her eyes again.  
Ron stepped up to the android and looked down on her. "I don't care how strong you are. You do ANYTHING to my brother, I will kill you."  
She didn't bat an eye.  
"Don't worry, Ron," Harry soothed him. "My Angel won't hurt me.
> 
> *
> 
> Stay Tuned for Chapter Three
> 
> By Aoi Kami Sarah 


	4. The Andriod's Wings chapter three

The Android's Wings Chapter Three

> The Android's Wings: A Dragonball Z / Outlaw Star Cross Over Fic by Aoi Kami Sarah
> 
> Chapter Three
> 
> The villagers kept their distance as the impossibly strong man worked on the huge yellow space ship. He had intimidated them into silence and cooperation. The repairs were nearly complete.
> 
> Ron walked back into the cave entrance of Eighteen's lab and made himself comfortable in a chair he had taken from the village. He watched the android woman put finishing touches on the body. Each aqua colored hair was woven in by her rapid and skilled hands.  
"Incredible," he mused.   
"You don't mean to tell me you're finally appreciating my work, Ron?"  
"Perhaps. I still trust you about as far as I could throw you."  
Eighteen simply nodded.   
"Why do you want off this Planet?" he asked and got up. "Seems like a nice place..."  
She snorted a little. "Nice. Boring, but nice."  
"So, it's adventure and excitement you want, then?"  
Again she nodded.  
Harry's face popped up on the laptop to their backs. "Don't worry. You hang out with us, you'll find plenty of that!"  
"Who said she's gonna hang out with us?" Ron growled. "I agreed to take her into space. She's on her own after that."  
"Ron..." Harry whined.  
Eighteen finished the hair and stood up. "I'm right here, Ron. No need to refer to me in the third person."  
He made a face and went back to his chair. "How much longer, Number Eighteen? When will Harry's body be ready?"  
"Not much longer now. I have to triple check everything, then feed Harry's AI data in. That's the really tough part."  
Harry's image raised a brow. "Why?"  
"I've never done this before. I assume the data will transfer smoothly, but..."  
"But?" he asked.  
She shrugged.  
Ron narrowed his eyes. "Like I said, anything goes wrong, I kill you."  
"Uh-huh."
> 
> *
> 
> Eighteen picked up the laptop and brought it over to the body. "Ok, Harry, I have to attach this optical line to you," she said and plugged a fiber optic cable into a tiny port in the android body's left temple.   
"All right."  
She plugged the BNC connection to the laptop. "This will actually be really easy. I can't imagine how the doctor made us or himself into androids."  
"The doctor?" Ron asked.  
"The man responsible for this technology."  
"What happened to him?"  
She thought for a second before answering. "My brother killed him." To prevent Ron from asking further questions, she got to work. "Ok. Let's do this. Harry? The initialization protocol is in place. Anytime you're ready, go ahead and attempt upload."  
"Can't he just copy himself over?" Ron asked, getting nervous.  
"This is his soul we're talking about, Ron. There can only be one Harry MacDougal."  
"Ready!' Harry chimed. His camera eye swiveled for the last time. "See you in a sec, Ron!"  
"Good luck, Harry."  
Eighteen folded her arms and closed her eyes in silent prayer as a status bar replaced Harry's face on the screen.
> 
> Ron and Eighteen held their breath, watched and waited. A soft pinging sound signaled the completion of the transfer. The monitor displayed a simple question mark, indicating that the laptop lacked an operating system.  
"Come on..." Ron gritted his teeth. "Where the hell is he?!"  
Eighteen held up a hand and listened. "Harry?"  
The android's violet eyes fluttered open. He grinned, sat up and removed the BNC cable from his head. He looked at it, then at the laptop with the steadily blinking question mark.  
"Harry?" Ron asked.   
Harry tilted back his head a little and cackled like a mad man. He leapt off the table and danced around the room. He wiggled his fingers and his toes. He clapped his hands together. Harry then realized that the others were staring at him. He ran over and hugged his brother tightly, laughing wildly. He then hugged Eighteen. She made a face, but let him do it.  
"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!" he shouted. "I have HANDS! And FEET!"  
"There's a lot more to it than that," Eighteen tried to say, but Harry was too excited.   
"Oh! Let's get out of here! All of us!"  
Ron narrowed his eyes at Eighteen. She shrugged and all three of them left the lab for the Shangri-la.
> 
> Stay Tuned for To Chapter Four
> 
> by Aoi Kami Sarah  
  



	5. The Andriod's Wings chapter four

The Android's Wings Chapter Four

> The Android's Wings: A Dragonball Z / Outlaw Star Cross Over Fic by Aoi Kami Sarah
> 
> Chapter Four
> 
> "Space," Eighteen whispered. "So black..."  
"You don't mean to tell me that you've never been out here!?" Harry asked, astounded.  
She shook her head slowly.  
"So." He sat down at the window and watched the stars fly by with her. "How long did you spend on that rock before we came along?"  
"I'm not sure, about a hundred."  
Harry blinked at her, but laughed. "You know, I keep forgetting you're an android!"  
"I don't." She frowned. "Harry, there will be a day when you will regret what you have let me do to you."  
"Never," he said curtly. "I wanted this. I will always be thankful." Harry reached out and touched Eighteen's face. She blushed and hesitated before pulling away.  
"Harry, I'm old enough to be your great grandmother."  
"I know, you told me."   
The ship hummed along as they flew through space.   
"How long to we get to..." Eighteen made a face. "Where are we going, anyway?"  
"Blue Heaven," Harry answered. "Shouldn't be too long now."  
"Sounds good."  
"I can take you out and show you around when we get there... that is, if you'd like, Miss Eighteen?"  
She gave him a sidelong glance and smiled. "Sure. You can if you want."
> 
> *  
Ron finished getting authorization codes and docked the Shangri-la. He put on his sun glasses and called for his brother. When he saw the woman with him his temper rose.  
"Damn it Harry. Haven't you gotten rid of her yet?"  
Eighteen squinted up at him. "I'm just as anxious to never see you again too, Fugly."  
"Great." Ron ignored her. "I'll be back by 1. I have some business to take care of. She doesn't get back on this ship, Harry, got that?"  
"Sure, sure, Ron." Harry waved as they walked away, out of the hangar and into the bustle of Blue Heaven.
> 
> *  
Harry sat on a chair and watched the curtain, anxiously. Eighteen came out and turned around.   
"Wow! That looks GREAT!" Harry exclaimed.  
"Are you sure? This thing looks like a tent on me..." The dark blue poncho hung from her shoulders and fell past her skirt line. "Styles are very strange out here in space. I think I like my space-suit better."  
"I'm not denying that," he smirked. "But this looks really great."  
"As long as you're paying, I'll have to agree."
> 
> *  
They walked along the courtyards and window shopped for a while. They even got some ice cream together. Eighteen sighed and suddenly wished that she COULD go with this strange, attractive young android. What would she do? Where would she go from here?
> 
> As she was lost in thought, she didn't realize that Harry had stopped to look at some jewelry. She collided with some one.
> 
>   
"Oh! I'm sorry!" a soft, cheery voice apologized.  
Eighteen looked up and saw a dark haired woman who just happened to be wearing the exact same outfit as she was.  
"Someone suckered you into wearing that too, eh?" she muttered.  
"What?" she asked, but her eyes moved past her. "Oh my... Harry MacDougal?!"  
Eighteen looked behind her. Harry's eyes were wide. He dropped what was left of his ice cream cone on the ground. "Melfina..."
> 
>   
That name was familiar. When she had hacked his memory banks, it was all over. Eighteen frowned and ripped her own poncho off. "Very cute, MacDougal."  
"No.. Eighteen, it's not what you think!"  
"Oh yes it is! And here I was trying to think of a way I could be nice to Ron so I could come with you!"  
Melfina backed up a few paces, but watched the fight.   
"Angel, please..."  
"I told you not to call me that! Screw you, Harry!" She turned and tried to storm away but slammed into yet another person. Eighteen growled and pushed the man out of her way and through a plate-glass shop window. "Get outta my way!"  
"Gene!" Melfina cried.  
"Starwind..." Harry growled.   
"What the hell is going on?!" Gene struggled to free himself from the glass and the angry shop keeper. "You're dead!"  
"Obviously not! And now I'm unstoppable!" Harry cackled and leveled his hand at the man.  
"Harry!" Eighteen stopped and barked. "Don't! Not here!"  
Melfina stretched out her arms. "No!" she yelled. "Stop this, Harry."  
"Everything is ruined now!" he seethed. "And it's all your fault, Gene Starwind!!"  
All she wanted to do was walk away, but she couldn't. She was about to wish she had.
> 
> As all four of them stood, waiting for something to snap, A communication came in on Harry's inset comm device. "What?!" he cried. "Fuck!" He began running back to the Shangri-la, but stopped and turned to face Eighteen.  
"I know you hate me, but if you want to come with us, better come now."  
She looked surprised. "But.. what about Ron?"  
"He asked me to bring you. We're gonna need all the help we can get!"  
Eighteen nodded and ran after him. Gene lumbered out of the window and leveled a blaster at them. He never fired it, too astounded to see the woman take Harry by the hand and lift off into the air. The flew away so fast that they left a vapor trail.
> 
> *  
Ron was at the helm, waiting impatiently, but was still surprised that his brother got there so fast.   
"What the hell is she doing here!?" he barked.   
"I thought you said he wanted me along!" Eighteen frowned.   
"Look, Ron, we're gonna need her!"  
"Mind telling me what I'm going to be such a big help with?"  
"Kei Pirates. They've found us. Damn it, I KNEW it was too chancy to come out here so soon!" Ron got the Shangri-la out of dock and blasted off. "Harry! Jack in and get to work!"  
"What can I do, Ron?" Eighteen stared at him, wondering what was so horrible about simple pirates.   
"Sit back and keep out of the way. We'll handle it."  
"Grapler arms are engaged and ready, Ron." Harry monotoned from his post.
> 
>   
Ron navigated through asteroids and ships gathered around Blue Heaven. A colorful space ship was brought up on the screen. The brothers tried every evasive maneuver they had up their sleeves. Soon, it was apparent that there were other forces at work against them. She heard a strange whispering sound.   
"Paduasamphapaduasampha..."  
"What the hell was that?!" Eighteen asked, alarmed.   
"Shit!" Ron hissed. "Harry! Bail out!"  
"Ron, no!"  
"Do it!"  
The pressure dropped rapidly as the ship was torn in half by an unseen force. Ron was killed instantly as the air in the ship was sucked out into space. Eighteen grabbed hold of Harry and shook him. He was alive, but in shock. She turned on her own comm device.  
"Harry, can you hear me!? You're an android! You can survive this!  
"Ron..." he whispered back. "Ron...?"  
"He's dead, Harry, and we have to find a way out of here. That ship will be back soon!" she cried as she tried to swim through the wreckage.   
"RON!!!" Harry screamed and shot an energy blast behind him, propelling him towards the Kei ship.   
"Harry, no!"  
She watched as he disappeared in to the orange blossom of the Kei's counter attack. Eighteen shielded her eyes and tumbled backwards. The shock wave hit her hard. She struggled to remain conscious.
> 
> Many moments later, the ship was gone. Eighteen opened her eyes and looked around. The freezing cold permeated her to her core. Just a few feet away was a blue-green, fuzzy object. Her outstretched arm grasped the hair easily and pulled it slowly towards her. Eighteen's last thought was that she was glad that his eyes were closed. She hugged the head to her chest and gave up.
> 
> END
> 
> Stay tuned for The Android's Blues. The final part in the Android's Saga by Aoi Kami Sarah  



	6. The Android's Blues chapter 1

**The Android's Blues**

A Cowboy Bebop/Dragonball Z Crossover Fanfiction by Aoikami Sarah

**Chapter One**

Faye raised a brow. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Jet moaned.

"Sounds like this hunk of shit hit something. Didn't you hear that?"

Jet scowled at her. The Bebop may have been a crappy ship, but it was _his_ crappy ship. He went back to repairing his bionic arm. "We hit things all the time, Faye. It's called space junk."

Faye watched him manipulate the fine tools with his remaining arm. Floating through space on empty was a typical occurrence on the Bebop but its frequency didn't make it any less boring. She slumped her shoulders and lazily got up. "Maybe watching Ein will be more interesting. I could watch paint dry, I'm so bored!"

"Sorry I'm not entertaining enough. Why don't you check Bigshots and see about making some money!"

Faye gritted her teeth and spun around. "Are you kidding? If my ship wasn't outta gas, too I would have blown this popsicle stand days ago!"

Jet ignored her as she stormed off.

Faye found a window and watched the space junk bobble past. She focused her own reflection and pulled her eyelid down. "Nlah!" she moaned and fogged up the glass. "Wait, was that a wrinkle!?" She quickly rubbed the glass clean with her red shirt and examined herself again. "Oh, come on. It can't be! I'm only 22!"

"You're really 76."

Faye spun around. "_Spike_," she threatened. He grinned, but the smirk soon faded. He looked out the window past her. Faye turned to look too.

"What is that?"

Faye squinted. "Space junk?"

Rotating slowly towards the Bebop was what appeared to be a body wearing a space suit. Its blond hair flowed around it as if it were underwater. As they watched it come closer then saw her face; her perfectly preserved face.

Spike ran for the hatch.

"Wait, Spike! Whaddaya think you're gonna do?!" Faye yelled after him. "Bring a dead body in here?!"

"It can't be a dead body," he called back. "Its face hasn't imploded from the effects of the vacuum."

"Then what is it?"

"That's what I'm gonna find out. Maybe it's worth something to someone."

The crew gathered at the decompression chamber and watched the mechanical arm pull the body in. Faye stood behind the others and kept her eyes on the action. Ed bounced up and down trying to get a better view.

"No one go near this thing for eight hours. It's too radioactive to be safe." Jet set controls in the airlock to detoxify the body. It rested on the floor awkwardly, still frozen in a semi-fetal position.

"That's a pretty old suit," Spike commented. It was ruined in several places, but there was no blood on it. In one place on its arm the fabric had been completely ripped open, revealing skin. "She's been out there for a long time."

"How can that be a person?" Faye asked. "She's not even affected!"

"Maybe it's a mannequin?" Jet suggested.

"Maybe it's a 'horrible alien'..." Spike monotoned.

"Maybe it's an android!!" Ed chimed.

Everyone looked at her funny. Jet bent down and wagged his finger at her. "No playing with it, whatever it is, got it?"

"An-droid, Cy-borg, Jinzou-nin-gen!!!" she sang and ran down the hallway.

**.x.**

Later that evening, Faye was going into the bathroom as she saw Ed disappear around a corner. The girl had her Tomato on her head and Ein at her heals. Faye knew Ed was going to investigate the body, but the idea of a bath suited her better than getting in on the investigation.

Almost a half an hour later, Faye emerged just as Ed was running back down the hall, giggling like mad. _'Must be playing with the dog,' _she thought and went to get changed.

Faye put her yellow hot-pants ensemble on and poked her head out of her door. She sneaked down the hallway. As she passed the bathroom, she heard the water running. She could also hear Jet humming to himself as he trimmed his bonsai. Thinking the two men of the ship were pre-occupied, she grinned and went to check out the body for herself.

Faye puzzled over what it could be. She was convinced that it had to be a real dead body. Why else would it be wearing a space suit? She came up on the little window that looked into the airlock and went pale. The lock was empty.

Faye stuttered and turned to run back down the hall. She slammed into Spike.

"So curiosity got the better of ya, huh?" he grinned.

"But, but, but..." She pointed. "It's _gone_!"

"What?!"

He too looked in and made a face. "Shit. Ed?!" he called. The two charged down the hall in search of the girl. They stormed past the bathroom. "Ed?!" She giggled as she ran after Ein towards them.

"What?" she asked dreamily.

"Where's the body?!"

"Body? Body, Body! Anybody, Somebody!"

Spike groaned and pushed her aside. Faye was getting more nervous with each passing moment. They stormed into Jet's room.

"What'd you do with the body, Jet?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"It's _gone_!!" Faye wailed.

"Why do you think I've got it?!" he asked defensively.

"It's dead," Faye reminded him. "It can't just get up and walk away!" Jet got up and stomped down the hall to prove them wrong. Ed was still seated in front of the bathroom. The sound of water flowing stopped all of them in their tracks. Their heads turned slowly to face the door. Jet was silently and begrudgingly elected to be the one to open it. Spike drew his gun. Faye bit her nails and hid behind Spike. They burst in.

She was in the bathtub still wearing her space suit. Her eyes were closed and her mouth hung open, but as they made their entrance, her head came up and her eyes flickered. "So... cold..."

All three adults screamed and ran to the other side of the ship to get more weapons. Ed poked her head in. "Oh, Juujuu, you scared them good!" she laughed and helped the android get out of her wet clothes.

**.x.**

Twenty minutes later, the crew of the Bebop assembled on the bridge and waited. Faye tapped her foot. "She coulda told us," she grumbled.

"Everything's a game to Ed, you know that," Jet muttered. He leaned back against the stairwell with his arms crossed. Their eyes locked on the woman as she rounded the corner. She blinked bashfully and took a seat on the couch. Jet and Faye began to ask questions at the same time. They cut each other off three times before she spoke. Her eyes were trained on the ground.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

Jet and Spike were stunned into silence, Faye was not. "Just what the hell are you that you were floating around in space like that?!"

She brought her head up and stared at the petulant woman with her icy blue eyes. "I'm a Jinzouningen."

"See, Ed was right!" Ed chimed and flopped down next to her. "Juuhachigou," she introduced her, "Spike, Faye, Jet and you already know Ed and Ein!"

They all raised a brow. "Number 18?"

She nodded. The crew of the Bebop was quiet as 18 told her story.

"Ed woke me up. I was in shutdown. I really don't know what I was doing in outer space." She hugged the blanket Ed had given her tightly to herself. "The last thing I remember there was a commotion in some little town. I was going to see what it was..." Her brows came together. "And now, it's 2071..."

"That's a surprise to you?" Jet asked.

"It was 1999."

"Impossible!" Jet shouted. "How the hell did they make cyborgs as advanced as you that far in the past?!"

"I'm not a cyborg," she frowned. "I'm an artificial human."

Faye sneered back. "Political Correctness went out 70 years ago, sweetheart."

"It's not PC," she glared back. "A cyborg is part human, part machine. My entire body may be artificial but my soul is not."

"Machines don't have souls!" Faye barked.

"I am not a machine, not really, I don't think." 18 sighed and looked back down at the floor.

Faye huffed and turned her back on the stranger.

Spike sat down across from her but said nothing.

"So you were on Earth before the gate disaster," Jet mused.

"Gate disaster?"

18's mind reeled as they filled her in on the last 70 years of history. The Earth was a wasteland. So much time had gone by now that even her grandchildren were probably dead, if she had any. Did she? Deep down all she wanted to do was go home but she didn't know why or where that was. It must have been on Earth. That sounded right, but if there was anything to go back to, anyone she would have known would be long dead.

Ed watched her with an uncharacteristically sad look on her face.

"I suppose I should thank you for rescuing me," she whispered. "Perhaps there is some way I can pay you back?"

"Got any money?" Jet asked. She shook her head. "Of course not."

"Maybe she's worth something," Spike mumbled as he stared at her. 18 looked up, shocked and offended.

"Spike! She's a person, not a thing, we can't sell her!"

"That's not what I mean. Why were you created?" Spike asked.

18 hung her head.

"You're a weapon, aren't you?"

Faye looked over her shoulder.

"I believe I was."

"I figured if you were that old, you must have been a covert military project or something. And that's the fastest way technology gets developed."

"I hope you're not going to ask me to kill. I won't do it. And I don't recommend using force on me. If I don't want to do something, I won't."

Spike nodded.

"We're bounty hunters, 18, not assassins."

"Interesting." She stood up. "Maybe I _can_ help you then."

Faye snorted. "Yeah, right. A 70 year old robot girl..."

"Actually my last memory is 70. I'm not sure exactly how old I am." 18 walked over to Faye. "Put your arms out like this," she asked, bending her own elbows and holding her forearms out. Faye hesitated, but under the glares of her ship-mates, she agreed.

The android gently put her hands around the underneath of Faye's elbows. "Now tense up," she advised and raised her arms until she had lifted Faye three feet into the air as if she were nothing. When she put her down, Faye was pale.

"I'm strong, fast and I can fight. If you'd like, set a price and I'll pay you back. I'm afraid I don't know the value of money now, but..."

The men stared, slack-jawed. "Sure!" Jet chimed.

Spike clapped his hands together and rubbed them. "How bout 500,000 Woolong?"

"Woowhat?"

Jet laughed. "You help us take down a bunch of bounties, giving us a big cut till you make up 500K. That sounds pretty fair."

"I'm telling you guys," Faye scoffed. "You're making a big mistake trusting her." She walked leisurely back to her room.

"Don't listen to that," Jet hooked his thumb at the retreating diva. "She's just miffed there's someone better lookin' around than her."

18 blushed.

Embarrassed, Jet tried to rephrase that. "Er! That is, she's just jealous, you know? Ughhhh."

"YAY!" Ed screamed as she saw the smile that was growing on the android's face. "Juujuu is a Cowgirl!"

_To be continued…_


	7. The Android's Blues chapter 2

**The Android's Blues**

A Cowboy Bebop/Dragonball Z Crossover Fanfiction by Aoikami Sarah

**Chapter Two**

The android was impressed to see there was a television program for bounty hunters. A man named Aristotle Pakele was wanted for grand theft. He had stolen billions of dollars worth of diamonds while they were in transit from the mines on Triton to Mars. He was close by but so were other bounty hunters and mobsters anxious to steal the diamonds themselves. The Bebop landed on Mars and they went to work.

Faye was noticeably absent when Spike and 18 left the Bebop. Jet and Ed relayed information to them over their two-way intercoms. On a tip from an ex-ISSP buddy, Jet led his friends straight to the prize.

Pakele sat in a coffee shop. His long, greying beard and wide girth made him an easy target. Spike whispered to 18 before she crossed the street. "There's a bounty hunter near that dumpster and probably a handful of yakuza coming up the block. Don't forget the reward is for the diamonds and Pakele, _alive_. Wait for my signal."

"No problem." She walked casually into the restaurant. The android was wearing a salmon colored tank top and a pair of bright blue Capri pants Faye had lent her. 18 had thought she'd stick out like a sore thumb, but the style here seemed to be consistent. A bell over the door made Pakele visibly nervous as she entered, but her appearance soothed him. 18 looked to Spike. Thumbs up.

"Hi there, this seat taken?" she asked.

"Hehe, why no, Baby. It's wide open." Pakele grinned a fairly toothless grin. 18 smiled seductively at him and reached under the table. Before she could grab him in an uncomfortable place, she heard the click of several guns being cocked. Pakele gasped. Outside, Spike was busy with the Yakuza and the other hunter. Inside, the whole shop was filled with the same kind of people.

"Sorry, I know you guys saw him first, but this is my first time out. I've _got_ to get him." 18 stood up and faced the throng. Dozens of muzzles were aimed at her head. She snorted with amusement. "Pakele, get under the table and stay there."

"Huh?" he asked, astounded, but did so.

"Ok," 18 said to her adversaries dryly. "Try to get through me."

Outside, Spike swung his heel into the eye-socket of the last standing enemy and turned his attention to the cafe just as the shots rang out.

"18!" he shouted, pulled out his gun and tried to get inside. Before he could force the door open, the sound stopped. Inside, there were bullet holes everywhere. Gangsters and hunters lay over the tables and on the floor, piled up, unconscious, but alive. Pakele twitched under the table. A neat void of bullet holes framed the area behind the android. She hadn't let a single one reach the bounty.

Spike stared at her, dumbfounded. Her fists were still clenched. She relaxed finally and let scores of bullets fall to the ground. "I don't think I've had a workout like that in years." She looked to the table. "Hey, Aristotle, you can come out now."

He stuttered and crawled slowly out from under the table. "Holy shit..."

"You can say that again," Spike muttered.

"Ho… Ly... Shit."

**.x.**

It wasn't until after they claimed the 300K bounty that Spike asked her how she did it. 18 looked at him funny. "I told you, I'm an android."

"Yeah, I know but I didn't see it. You can really catch bullets?"

18 smiled. "You're impressed?"

"Hell yeah. You're like Superman."

"I saw you fighting out there too. You know your stuff."

"I can't catch bullets, though."

"Really?"

Spike stopped walking. "That surprises you?"

"Sure."

He raised a suspicious brow.

18 smiled. "Is there a nice isolated place around here somewhere?"

"Why...?" he asked suspiciously.

"I could train you."

"To catch bullets?"

"Maybe. Let's take a walk, shall we?"

Spike shrugged and they wandered out of the city and into a desolate industrial districkt. "Ok," 18 stopped, satisfied that an abandoned warehouse was sufficiently out of the way. "I assume you're familiar with Chi energy?"

Spike nodded.

"Just let me know when I've lost you, ok? I want you to channel your Chi as if preparing to take a blow or deliver a punch. Channel it down into your hands." She held her own hands in front of her and slightly apart to demonstrate. "Concentrate that energy till you can actually see it forming a ball between your hands."

"What?!"

"Don't doubt yourself. You can do it."

Spike sweat a little as he pushed. Slowly to his great surprise, a tiny bluish ball began to form.

"There ya go! Now cool down and do that five more times." She turned and began walking away.

"Hey, wait! When do you show me how to catch bullets?"

She looked over her shoulder. "Do it five times today, and ten times tomorrow then ten more times that for the next five days, but never in the ship. I won't be held responsible for any collateral damage. Then I might teach you something way cooler than catching bullets."

**.x.**

The Bebop crew's next bounty was a female hacker living in a ship that she was using to control satellites primarily used to transfer funds from planet to planet. It was easy for Spike and Faye to board the ship once Ed had disabled the security matrix and 18 blazed them a path through the airlock door. As they ran through the entrance, 18 backed away from a sparking cable.

"What's the matter?!" Faye asked, panicked that they had stumbled into a trap.

"Nothing. I just don't get along with that many amps." She followed them towards the cockpit.

"What would happen if you got shocked?" Faye asked, trying to sound innocent.

"I'd probably shut down."

"Would you two quit makin' small talk?" Spike moaned. "We got a job to do."

They came to the last set of safety doors.

"18, do the honors?" Spike smiled.

"Sure, sure." She gripped the slight gap between the alloy doors and peeled them away like an orange rind. "Hello!" she chimed. The bounty, an obese woman probably in her late forties, was cowering under the ship's console.

"Holy Hanna!" She gawked at the doors. "Don't kill me, man!"

Faye cuffed her. "Just relax and we won't have her rip your arms off." The woman fainted.

"Faye..." Spike grumbled.

"No problem," 18 bent and picked the woman up effortlessly.

Spike marveled. "Man, what can't you do?"

"Yeah, you're a regular Swiss army knife..." Faye grumbled and followed them out of the ship.

That afternoon, the ship landed on Mars and everyone got some much deserved time off. Faye sighed, exasperated. "Finally!" she groaned. "I haven't been shopping in I can't tell you how long!"

"Three days, ten hours," Jet answered. "And the crap you bought the last time is still cluttering up the ship. Don't buy anything stupid this time."

"Stupid?" Faye asked and put her hands on her hips.

"Like the inflatable chair we don't need…"

"It deflates, you know!"

"I'll deflate it, alright," Jet growled, cocking his gun.

Spike rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's get out of her before you two kill each other." He looked to their new friend. "18, would you come with me?" he asked raising a knowing brow.

She smirked slightly. "I don't see why not. I've got nothing better to do."

Faye narrowed her eyes at her. "So what are you going to spend all your Woolong on, hm? Motor oil?"

18 scoffed but otherwise ignored her. "Let's go, Spike."

Faye smoldered as she walked away. Jet had already taken his leave and Ed waved madly from the ship's cockpit with Ein jumping up into view occasionally. "Speaking of greasy things," Faye said to herself, grinned and strolled off into the city.

**.x.**

In a dim, lazy bar in a bad part of town Faye lounged in a booth and waited. In a moment two men in crumpled suits slid in on the opposite side. "Whaddaya got?" said one. "Better be good," said the other. Two more men stood in the shadows.

"I understand you like _toys_," she carefully.

"We're listening."

"I have a hell of a toy for you. An A.I."

The men began to get up.  
Faye sipped a soda not wanting to dull her senses around such sharp individuals. "Five foot five, blond and strong as hell." She raised a brow. "And did I mention, female?" she said and flipped open her phone to show them a picture of 18.

"You have gained our interest," said one.

Faye took another drag off her cigarette and licked her teeth and grinned.

"What's your price?" One of them asked her.

"70K, chump change."

"50," he bartered.

"65."

The man to his left breathed deep. "If she's as strong as you say she is, why risk getting our men killed? You bring her to us."

Faye crushed the cigarette out. "You're the android experts. You come get her."

"70K."

She raised her brow. "Done."

**.x.**

When everyone came back to the ship, Jet had a list of possible targets here on Mars which he briefed everyone on. Faye retired to her room and was thinking about taking a nice long bath to celebrate her ingenious plan when there was a knock on the door. "Who knocks around here?" she wondered and instinctively located her weapons. "Come in?"

She was surprised to see the android standing in the doorway. "I'm sorry to bother you," 18 said with that cool, artificial confidence that made Faye nervous and mad at the same time. "Can we talk?"

She narrowed her eyes at her. "What for?"

"I seem to have upset you somehow. Since I'm not sure what I did, I'd like to see if I can make it better."

"Why?" Faye almost laughed at how preposterous her intentions sounded. "You're a machine, what do you care about what I think of you?!"

18 blinked and pouted. "I see."

Fayed clenched her fists. "You see what? You can't possibly have any Idea what human's feel!"

18 sighed and sat down. "I may not remember my past at all, but I had thought that perhaps at one point I had been human. I understand that you think of me as an object rather than a person."

"You do, huh? You're more than 70 years old, you told us. You think that makes you human? Look at you! You're perfect, false! You're beauty will never fade. You're strong enough to defend and provide for yourself, forever!"

"And that's enviable?"

Faye growled. "Who said anything about envy?!"

18 didn't bat an eye. "You did. My beauty, my strength; these things anger you not because you hate them but because you wish you had them. You are beautiful and strong now but you fear that being human those things will fade."

Faye didn't reply with words but with her hand. She slapped the Jinzouningen across the face and seethed.

18 was unmoved. "You envy me, and I envy you."

"Oh, really?"

She nodded. "I lost everything I ever knew to the past. If there were humans I knew, they would be long dead now. Anyone who could tell me who I am, where I came from are long gone. If I were human, I would have had a normal life." She lowered her head. "I wouldn't feel the way I feel now."

Faye stared at her and her posture slowly relaxed. "You're kidding, right?" When she looked back up, 18 looked sad. She found the edge of her bed and sat without taking her eyes off of the android and laughed. "Oh, man. We're a couple of sad sacks, aren't we?" she said softly. "You don't want to be me, honey. I have the same problem you have." 18 took a seat across from her and Faye explained her story of being trapped in cryogenic stasis for fifty years and losing her memory. "Only difference is you have plenty of time to start over. Me, I'm just getting by until the end."

18 shook her head. "But you get to change."

Faye sort of half-smiled. "Whoopitido."

_To be concluded…_


	8. The Android's Blues chapter 3

**The Android's Blues**

A Cowboy Bebop/Dragonball Z Crossover Fanfiction by Aoikami Sarah

**Chapter Three**

Spike tucked a few grenades in his pockets and made sure his gun was ready for action. "You comin' 18?" he asked the android as she was lacing up her boots.

"Right behind you. Go ahead and launch the Swordfish."

He saluted and headed for his ship's bay.

Faye jogged into the room and came to a halt next to the sofa. "18, maybe you should sit this one out? Let me go instead."

18 smiled. "Still jealous?"

She grumbled. "No." Faye pursed her lips. "Just… I could use the cash!" she laughed.

The android shrugged, pulled on her gloves and walked to the airlock. "I'll be back," she called and the door slid shut behind her.

Faye paused and stared at the door for a second before jogging back out of the room.

**.x.**

Jet called Spike on the two-way as he sneaked into the warehouse. "Be careful, Spike. I don't like the looks of this place."

"Yeah, too many places to hide," he agreed.

18 stood very still and looked around. "There are five men in fifty food radius. Nine o'clock, nine-thirty, noon, one and one-thirty," she stated as she detected their presence. "And three more on the upper level at three."

Spike took aim and grinned wide. "All we want is the bounty head, fellas. If you throw him out here we won't have to hurt all of you to get at him!"

The sound of guns being cocked and Jet groaning in disbelief into the two-way echoed off the empty warehouse walls. 18 burst forward at the group between noon and one-thirty. Spike aimed for the upper floors and fired some shots to get the men up there to scatter. He was surprised to hear Faye's voice in his ear. "Spike! Get out of there, it's a trap!" she cried.

"What?!"

"Watch out, they're after 18!"

He turned to see where she'd gone and saw her lift a pallet off the floor to get at the men behind it. As soon as she touched it the loud crackling sound of electricity arcing filled the space and 18 fell motionless to the ground.

"18!!" Spike shouted and the place erupted in gunfire. He was forced to run for cover. Jet and Faye joined him but once they were able to get back inside, the men and the android were gone.

Faye cursed. "Come on, they must have gone out the back!" she cried and ran recklessly through the warehouse. The men followed but after a thorough inspection, they decided there was no trace of her. Faye was still upset and kicked a piece of industrial detritus and set it skittering across the pavement. "Whadda we do now?"

Jet thought for a moment. "I bet Ed can find her. Quick, let's head back."

Back aboard the ship Ed plugged away at her computer and swooned back and forth as she searched the net for signs of 18. "Juuhachi, juu-chan, juujuubee," she sang as she did. "Aha! Blue Fox syndicate home base just had a major drain on their power usage. Word is they acquired some fancy new tech-weapon."

"Is it her?" Faye asked.

"The Word doesn't know yet. Blue Fox says 'none of your business, bai bai!'" she laughed as she lost the connection with the criminals.

Spike frowned. "Where's the Blue Fox HQ?"

**.x.**

When they arrived, it seemed Ed's poking around had prepared the gangsters. The place was virtually deserted. Spike, Jet and Faye approached from different locations, guns ready to break and enter. To their surprise, 18 came out to see them.

"Hey, she's ok!" Jet called.

Spike narrowed his eyes. "No, she's not."

The android had been given a trench coat worn by the Blue Fox gang members. She took strange, almost sleep-walking steps forward and came to a stop. Her head turned mechanically and her left arm pointed at Jet. He was only just able to dodge the energy beam that shot from her hand. "I hate it when you're right!" Jet shouted and took up a defensive position around the corner of a neighboring building.

"Just 'cause I'm right doesn't mean I know what to do!" Spike shouted back. Before he could think of a suitable plan he noticed Faye out of the corner of his eye coming up from behind. "What are you doing, Faye? Get back! I know how strong she really is. You can't beat her!" he barked into the two-way.

"I'm not going to fight her," she said calmly. "Hi, 18. Remember me?" she asked, drawing the android's attention who lifted her hand a fired a shot that nearly took the woman's ear off. Faye paused but continued to approach. "I'm going to make this right," she said, clenching her fists. "We are the same. We've both forgotten. We're both out of time," she said carefully.

"Faye, Stop!" Jet called. "They must have reprogrammed her, she can't hear you!"  
"I don't believe that!" Faye shouted. "I know you're in there, 18, because you're a person, not a machine, right?" 18 showed no signs of backing off and her hand glowed again, readying another attack. Faye cringed, but didn't back down and didn't fire her own weapon at her. When the blast failed to take her down, Faye opened her eyes and saw Spike standing in front of 18.

"You don't want to do this," he said, his arms were pressed against hers as if he had blocked her in the blink of an eye. "Listen to Faye, 18. Snap out of it!"

.x.

Back on the Bebop Ed typed faster than she had ever typed before. "Bebop to Juujuu. Bebop to Juujuu. Come in… Juujuu!" she chimed. "Open says me!"

.x.

18 narrowed her eyes and relaxed but didn't answer Spike. For an agonizing second he wasn't sure he made the best decision until she relaxed and flew up into the Blue Fox's second-story window. The sound of gunfire and humans screaming preceded an eerie silence.

Jet came out of hiding and joined Spike and Faye at the front steps. "Spike, I didn't even see you move, how did you do that?" he asked but 18 re-emerged before he was made to answer.

"18!" Faye cried.

She saluted. "Yo."

"You ok?" Spike asked.

18 nodded. "Thanks to Ed, I remember now. I remember everything."

**.x.**

Ed, Faye and 18 remained holed up in Ed's room for hours on end when they returned. Faye sat quietly and observed most of the time as Ed tweaked away on her computer which was attached to the back of the android's head. When she had finished, Ed unplugged and flopped down into a low bow before her. She pressed her forehead to the ground. "Ed is really really really really sorry!" she said loudly.

18 smiled. "You meant well."

Faye made a face. "Mind cluing me in?"

18 patted Ed on the top of her head and she sprang back up into a sitting position. "When you found me, Ed woke me up. When she hacked into my memory, she saw what I'd been through and realized it was what caused me to shut down. She blocked the memories so that I could function again."

Faye pouted. "What happened?"

"I lost everything. I watched my husband and children grow old and die. I watched the places I lived in grow and change yet I didn't. I had to move else the humans would start to wonder. Eventually I found some new friends and there was a glimmer of hope that I could find a new existence, but they were destroyed and I was left floating in space. I wonder what ever became of Harry's head. I was holding I when I shut down…" she said dreamily.

"Children?" Faye asked. "So you were human!"

"I think so. I never got to ask my creator, but I'm capable of having children, of feeling love, of feeling loss just like a human."

"You're creator was a genius," Ed said slowly. "He imported you from someone else and now Ed knows how."

Faye and 18 blinked at her. "You do?!"

**.x.**

A few days later Jet was beginning to worry. No one had emerged for more than a moment to get food or use the facilities in all that time. He and Spike milled around listlessly, wondering but every time they tried to find out what was going on they met with Ed's wrath.

The three women emerged at last looking tired and giddy, like a girls' club that has been keeping secrets from the boys. The watched them carefully, but got no clues as to what had transpired. 18 was dressed to go out with a leather jacket and a duffle bag over her shoulder.

"Going somewhere?" Jet asked.

She put the bag down and looked to the other girls. "I'm leaving."

"_Leaving_, leaving?" Spike asked.

"_Leaving_, leaving. I'm sorry I only made you 300,000 woolongs."

"Actually," Jet said and scratched his head. "Those Blue Fox guys had a few heads among them. We got more than enough to make up for it thanks to you!"

18 laughed awkwardly. "Well, that's good!" They stood in silence for a moment. 18 looked as if she was trying not to tap her foot. "It's been great! Maybe I'll come back and see ya sometime!"

They saw her out to the spaceport where she waved goodbye and blended into the crowd. "That was sudden," Jet commented. "I was kinda getting used to having a sensible woman around."

Faye scoffed. "Sorry about that," she said and put her hands behind her head. "And Spike," she said with a sly grin. "Sorry I never got to teach you how to catch bullets." Faye walked away and they noticed that she wore a pair of slacks, a white tee-shirt and a black vest rather than her usual provocative ensemble.

Ed giggled at the men's reactions and chased after Faye as she led them out of the spaceport. "Juujuu is a cowgirl!" she chimed again.

**END**


End file.
